The present invention relates to the protection of the edges of panels. More particularly, the invention relates to the protection of edges of panels used for construction and furniture (such as, e.g., tables).
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for more safety for furniture in offices, schools, nurseries, kindergartens and homes. In general, the industry has attempted to apply protective edging to panels used to produce various types of furniture. In one commercially used process, a U-shaped groove is cut around and into the edge of the panel to be protected. A polyurethane composition is then poured into the groove. Once the polyurethane composition has cured, the panel edge portion making up the outside border of the U-shaped groove is removed with a router. The edge must then be routed to remove excess polyurethane and routed again to shape the polyurethane composition. Finally, the edge is sanded to its final surface smoothness. Obviously, this technique is very labor intensive.
In addition, techniques have been developed which utilize complex molds (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,813).
Non-sagging polyurethane compositions are known in the polyurethane art. Such compositions have been described as useful adhesives and to repair cracks and voids (see, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,336,298, 4,444,976, and 4,944,540, and U.S. application Ser. No. 07/465,715, filed on Jan. 16, 1990, now U.S. Pat. NO. 5,164,473 patented Nov. 17, 1992, and Ser. No. 07/513,466, filed on Apr. 19, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,303, patented Nov. 7, 1992.
It is an object of the present invention to protect the edges of panels in a simple, efficient manner.